All pupils - able children included - need to be taught strategies to enable their thinking skills to progress. They also need help with developing different approaches to problem solving. A sustained piece of work that requires perseverance, logical strategies, and refinement of method and extension of the original task is not the same as a straightforward quick-fix type problem. Both types of problem solving need to be taught. This book presents a series of activities that can be used with whole classes to provide a curriculum for the teaching of problem solving and the development of thinking skills. Each tried and tested investigation is clearly explained with ideas on how to introduce the task to a class, full solutions and resource sheets. Activities include making 10p: a task to encourage systematic listing; tables and chairs: working systematically and spotting patterns; polygons and polyhedra: investigating diagonals, triangles, faces, edges and vertices; hidden faces: investigating different shapes and sizes of dice; and pond borders: investigating area and perimeter.

Covering the key principles and concepts in the teaching and learning of mathematics in primary schools, this text provides trainee and practising teachers with a quick and easy reference to what they need to know for their course, and in the classroom. The entries are arranged alphabetically, and each contains a brief definition, followed by an explanation and discussion, practical examples and annotated suggestions for further reading. Examples of the wide-ranging material include: Anxiety about mathematics; Assessment for Learning; Cognitive conflict; Concept learning; Creativity in mathematics; Differentiation; Equivalence; Explanation; Investigation; Low attainment; Making connections; Meaningful context; Mental calculation; Numeracy; Play as a context for learning mathematics; Problem-solving; Questioning; Talk.

This Second Edition covers the mathematics needed to teach the Early Learning Goals. It has been up-dated to include new research findings as well as new topics, for example, using number lines with young children. The topics of counting, number (including early addition and subtraction), pattern, measures and shape and space are covered in detail. Each chapter contains suggestions for key questions to ask in order to encourage children to discuss their mathematics and to demonstrate what they know and understand. There are sections on developing problem-solving skills, working with parents and other adults in the nursery setting, as well as detailed charts giving ideas for activities and how to assess learning, and some activities planned in full. The final chapter gives detailed help with planning and assessment of mathematics. The book is intended for anyone working with children in the early years: teachers, nursery nurses, classroom assistants, playgroup leaders and workers, child-minders and day care staff. It is particularly suitable as a course text for those training to be teachers, either through the undergraduate route, or through a PGCE, and for those studying for early childhood degrees or diplomas.

This text precisely matches the 2002 specifications for the BTEC National Early Years qualification. It covers the eight core units and two externally assessed specialist units, child health and human growth and development. Each chapter covers a unit of the qualification. It is suitable for those taking the qualification at either certificate or diploma level and contains case studies with linked questions, activities and professional practice pointers throughout to help students apply theory to everyday practice.

This highly illustrated book draws together the wide variety of studies in the learning of mathematics undertaken by the Pattern in Mathematics Research Group at the University of Leeds. Their purpose has been '... to provide structure and support to ... studies of children's perception, conception and use of pattern in learning mathematics'. Set up in 1992, they have embraced work across the whole curriculum, and through all the years of compulsory schooling. As each chapter of this book relates to a different study that was undertaken, the reader can dip in and select relevant material. At the same time, the editor has ensured continuity and progression, allowing the book to be approached as a whole: the early chapters are concerned with very young children; subsequent chapters deal with the primary and middle age ranges, and later ones relate to secondary school work. With individual chapters relating to number, algebra, shape, graphic relations and probability, this new volume provides guidance for teachers of pupils of all age groups. Patterns in mathematics are of immense importance; this book relates pattern to the teaching of mathematics through all years of school. Practical and original, it is closely tied to the National Curriculum. It is a source of new ideas for mathematic teachers at all levels.

Writing primarily for student and newly qualified teachers, whose classroom experience is necessarily limited, the author takes pains to elucidate why to assess, what to assess and how to assess.

A practical introduction to Maths teaching designed specifically for beginning teachers in primary and secondary schools. It brings together the latest DfES and TTA guidelines and requirements with authoritative guidance, ensuring that readers feel confident about how to approach their role as a teacher. This book explores key issues in maths teaching today, including: planning and classroom management assessment, recording and reporting information and communication technology investigative mathematics equal opportunities, special needs and differentiation key skills and alternative mathematics qualifications being an effective maths teacher personal and professional development in the early stages of a teaching career.